by Logan Jacobs
I tried to find her, and I even stood on top of the cart, but she was well-hidden.
“Not one bit.” I grinned.
“Yay!” she cheered, and she stood up, clapped, and bounced up and down on the balls of her feet. “I’ll put some in yours and Eira’s hair, too.”
The elf girl started to cut some more pieces of grass, and I took in the sight of her in the dim morning light surrounded by the bright-yellow grass that matched her eyes. She wore her hair in two long braids so her elf ears stuck out the sides, and a few flyaways framed her face. She had on her yellow tunic and deep gray armor that was nearly black. Inger was on her shoulders, still half asleep, and the bright red dragon acted as a sort of accent piece for the entire ensemble. Asta’s slim waist and wide hips were accentuated by the breastplate of her aegis, and I couldn’t help but smile at how delicate she looked even when she was ready for battle and had a fire-breathing dragon on her shoulders.
Asta walked over to Eira, and the stark contrast between the two women was astounding. Whereas Asta appeared dainty even with her armor on, Eira appeared commanding and intimidating. The redhead’s jaw was set so her perfectly plump lips pouted just slightly, and her green eyes stared ahead with the focus of a soldier preparing for battle. Her long hair was pulled back into one thick braid that hung down her back, and she wore a simple short black sleeveless tunic perfect for moving around in. Her armor was a practical steel, fit her exceptionally well, and showed off her sexy full figure, and her long sword on her hip only served to add to her warrior aesthetic. The only thing that softened her appearance was the little sleeping dragon curled around her neck.
Kas sat on the back of the cart, and her strawberry-blonde curls were still a mess, but they matched her wild beauty. Her violet eyes were intent on her spell book, and though she wore her armor, she sat so casually it looked like it was simply part of her outfit instead of something required for battle. Uffe was curled up next to her, and she absentmindedly stroked his back as she read over the spell on the page. Her lilac eyes narrowed with intensity, and her red lips pursed and twisted to the side as she thought. Kas’ sharp jaw led down to a small, dainty chin, and her high cheekbones were flushed with color from the brisk morning. She wore the same white tunic as she had the day before, and I smiled as I thought about how incredibly talented she was, and how lucky I was to have her on my team.
Asta finished putting the grass in Eira’s hair, and then she came over to me and started to weave the foliage into the braid on top of my head.
Just as she was finishing up, I saw Eira’s eyes narrow to our right.
“They’re coming down the road,” she whispered.
“Everybody get in place,” I said.
We all hurried to our positions as the dwarves approached.
Kas and Uffe retreated into the cart while Asta, Eira, and I moved into the grass in the surrounding area. Blar was with me, Svass was with Eira, and Inger was with Asta, as usual.
I crouched down, and I could feel Blar’s claws dig into my shoulder slightly as he perched on my back and prepared for the upcoming fight.
From my vantage point, I could see the dwarves’ cart as they approached, and I did a quick tally of the men I could see. There were three in the front of the cart, but I imagined there were more in the back I was unable to see.
The sun was rising behind them, and the fact that there wasn’t anybody standing outside of our cart didn’t seem to be deterring them since they continued to come toward us.
We’d definitely been right, though, the dwarves were disguised as elves. I didn’t blame them, they were incredibly small creatures, no more than a couple feet tall, so it would make sense they’d want to be on the same level as whoever they were doing business with.
The one holding the reins had long deep black hair and a dark-blue robe on while the other two had blond hair of the same length. One wore a bright red robe, and the other wore a dark-brown one.
It almost seemed as though they’d gone a little overboard with the disguises since they were clearly out of touch with how elves actually dressed now. Elves wearing robes was a sort of stereotype even I’d thought was true until I visited Alfheim.
It seemed strange to me that these dwarves, who did business consistently in this realm, wouldn’t update their disguises to better fit the times. Not to mention, robes were incredibly impractical to fight in.
I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind and took a deep, steadying breath as their cart entered the little area we’d carved out.
The leader with the black hair pulled on the reins to halt the animals, but his eyes narrowed as he looked around.
“Hello?” he called out.
“We’ll be right out,” a male voice called from the back of the cart, and I smiled when I realized it was Kas using a spell to disguise her voice.
The black-haired man still seemed skeptical, but he urged the other two out of the cart and then hopped down himself.
After a moment, several more men appeared from the back of the cart, and I did a quick tally of them all. There were seven dwarves altogether, which was more than I’d figured, but still not too many for the girls and I to handle.
“What’s taking so long?” the black-haired elf-looking dwarf called out, and I saw his eyes narrow even further as he took a few steps back.
The look on his face told me he realized he’d walked into a trap.
Now was our time to strike.
Chapter 5
I stood up, shrunk my sword, and threw it directly at the dark-haired dwarf.
He turned toward me as my weapon flew through the air, and the blade hit him right in the face and smashed in all of his pretend features.
Before the other dwarves had a chance to retaliate, Eira and Asta popped up from their spots in the field, too.
Then I held my hand out, and Blar breathed a massive blue flame into my open palm to call my sword back to me.
During those few brief seconds I was retrieving my blade, Asta threw her axe right into the chest of one of the blond-haired dwarves, and Eira managed to make her way over to the group to slash one man through the stomach and take off the arm of another.
I couldn’t let the girls have all the fun, though, so I grinned and ran into the fray.
I was met by the sword of a brown-haired elf in a yellow robe, but the man seemed to have very little fighting experience, because he held his two-handed sword with only one hand as he tried to yank at my weapon with his other hand.
I shook my head as I blocked the guy, and then I caught Blar’s eye and nodded.
The little blue dragon released a blue flame right at our opponent, and the man immediately dropped his sword and fell to the ground in a fiery fit.
“Seriously,” I muttered and thrust my sword through the guy’s neck.
His yellow eyes bulged for a second, but then his body went still as blood started to rush from the wound and seep into the ground around him.
I’d heard most dwarves were blacksmiths, and if that was the case, I was less than impressed with their fighting skills. It seemed someone who made a weapon should at least be able to use it.
Just as I yanked my sword from the first male, I sensed the presence of another behind me, so I spun around and lifted my blade to block his blow.
Unlike his companion, this man seemed to know what he was doing, and he came at me with the ferocity I liked to see in an opponent. His teeth were clenched together, and he wielded his sword correctly as he slashed and jabbed at me.
I blocked each move he made, and though he wasn’t extremely strong, he was quick, so I had to keep moving in order to combat the blows.
A quick glance around showed me the girls were in the same boat. The first male I’d come after must have been a fluke, because the rest of these arseholes seemed like they knew a thing or two about the weapons they no doubt made. Both Eira and Asta were locked in battle, and the dragons were helping, too, but I didn’t have time to focus on
them.
Another male came up on my back, but Blar blasted him with a fireball to give me a second to respond. I jumped up and gave a swift kick into the chest of the man I’d been fighting with, and then I spun around and slashed the screaming, burning man behind me in the stomach.
The dark-haired male was right behind me when I spun back around, but I was ready for him, and instead of countering his blow, I allowed him to swing as I ducked below his sword and stabbed upward.
My blade caught him just below the ribs, and his body lifted off the ground and slid down to the hilt of my sword as I stood up and let out a war cry.
I swung my blade to the side, and the man went flying into the grass. Blood splattered from his wound as he soared through the air, and he landed in a bloody heap in the dirt.
Before the dust could even settle around his body, I spun around to the next man. He countered my first attack, but then he swung high, so while his blade was still in the follow-through of his swing, I reared my arms back and took the opening to slice at his stomach.
My blow would have cut him right in half, but just as my blade was about to make contact with him, the man disappeared.
I stopped my swing and held my blade out in front of me as I looked around for my opponent. Was this some sort of dwarven magic I’d never seen before?
The weight of something landing on my sword and forcing the tip down caught my attention, and I looked back to my blade to see a little man standing on the flat side of it. I blinked in shock for a moment, but then I realized Kas must have managed to remove their magical disguises.
“Ahhh!” the dwarf screamed in a strangely high-pitched voice before he jumped down from my sword and took off running.
“What the fuck,” I breathed as I started to chase the little creature.
“They’re getting away!” Eira called out, and I turned to see another dwarf running from her toward the grass.
“Shit,” I grumbled as I hurried through the grass after my little dwarf.
Blar dove off my shoulder, but just as he was about to pounce on the man, the bastard tucked and rolled forward.
The dwarf disappeared into the grass, but I kept going after it.
Suddenly, Svass flew over my head and then swooped down into the tall yellow grass. A little thud sounded, and the dragon made a small squeak to alert us she’d caught the enemy.
“Alright, Svass!” I hollered as I ran toward her.
Asta and Eira were suddenly right next to me as we made our way to where Svass had caught the dwarf.
She was just ahead of us, with the little man pinned to the ground. He had a long white beard, a small flat hat on, and a dark-brown tunic with matching brown boots. A tiny sword was strapped to his hip, but Svass pinned his arm down so he couldn’t reach it.
The little dragon was sitting on top of the dwarf, and she looked up at us and smiled sweetly.
“Good job,” Eira congratulated her.
“Yes, thank you,” I told the little yellow girl, and I bent down to look at the dwarf as he shook his head back and forth and rattled his body in an attempt to free himself. “Alright, I’m going to ask you once--”
My words were cut off as the dwarf disappeared with a little poof sound and a small cloud of gray smoke.
Svass let out an eek as she hit the ground, and then she looked around in a panic before she turned to me with wide pink eyes full of confusion.
“It’s okay.” I picked her up and rubbed her head as I shook my own. “You did your best.”
“What the fuck just happened?” Eira asked.
“His buddies must have cast a spell to get him back home,” Kas said, and I turned to look at her with surprise. I hadn’t even heard her approach, but then again, I’d been a little preoccupied at the moment.
“Or he cast a spell to get himself home,” Asta suggested.
“That could be the case, too,” I agreed. “We can’t say for sure.”
“We killed most of them,” Eira said. “I even got the little one who ran from me. Well, Svass got him.”
“I was hoping to interrogate this one.” I frowned. “But since he got away, that could mean trouble for us.”
“What do you mean?” Asta asked, and her white eyebrows pulled together seriously.
“Well, if he tells the other dwarves, or the elves he knows, then they’ll know there’s someone taking down dealers,” I explained. “Most of the actual dealer groups don’t communicate with one another, so if we take out one group of dealers, there’s nobody left to tell other dealers, but these were buyers, so they could have more than one connection.”
“Oh.” Asta’s yellow eyes widened with fear. “We must find him.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “And fast.”
“Shite.” Eira shook her head. “The little thing was fast.”
“They were all very quick,” Asta said. “Even when we were fighting, they were faster than I’d expected.”
“It must be something with their size,” Kas said. “Even in their disguises, they keep their quickness.”
“That would make sense.” Eira nodded. “It’s the only thing that kept them alive for so long during battle. They weren’t the most skilled fighters, but they were able to dodge my moves pretty quickly.”
“Same here,” I said, and I turned to Kas. “Is there a spell we can use to figure out where he went?”
“Maybe.” Kas bit her lip. “I’ll check my book, but I’m not sure.”
“Could this help?” Asta asked, and she picked up a tiny boot off the ground, brushed it off, and held it out to the sorceress.
“If there is a spell for that, then this will definitely help.” The sorceress nodded and took the boot. She turned it over in her hand, and then she busted up laughing. “I’m sorry, it’s just so cute.”
“It really is,” Asta giggled. “It’s sooooo tiny.”
“I bet it would fit on Svass,” Eira laughed.
“Not you, too,” I chuckled.
“It’s adorable.” The redhead shrugged.
“I guess it is pretty cute,” I said with a half-smile as I looked at the tiny boot.
Svass flew over to land on Kas’ hand, and she slipped her back foot into the small shoe and then looked up at all of us with a huge smile on her reptile face. The boot didn’t fit exactly, of course, but she managed to get her foot in it, and the act itself was incredibly endearing.
“Ohhhhhh,” Asta squealed. “She’s so precious!”
“Nice,” Eira laughed and scratched under the little dragon’s chin.
“If only he’d left behind a pair of them,” Kas joked.
“Alright,” I said with a small clap. “Enough cute boot stuff --”
“Cute boot,” Asta snickered and interrupted me, but I raised an eyebrow at her, and she bit her lip and flushed with color. “Sorry. It sounded funny.”
“We need to figure out where he went,” I said with a small shake of my head.
“It will take me a little while to look through the book,” Kas said.
“What about Ramir?” Eira suggested. “I bet he’ll know right away if there’s a spell for it or not.”
“You’re right!” Kas grinned. “My father will definitely be able to help us with this.”
“Alright,” I agreed. “We should probably get the cart back to Asgard anyways, that way we don’t have to worry about leaving it here when we go to Svartalfheim.”
“You think he went back to his own realm?” Asta asked.
“I’m sure he did.” I nodded. “We just need to know where. The realm of dwarves isn’t exactly tiny.”
“Right,” the white-haired elf girl said with a nod.
“Blar.” I turned to the little blue dragon on my shoulder. “Can you make a portal big enough to pull the cart through?”
Blar pursed his scaly lips and gave me a determined nod.
“Good,” I said. “We’ll need to do this quickly. Let’s go through the dwarves’ carriage and take whatever we c
an find, then we’ll head right over to Ramir’s. Blar, you practice that portal while we look through the cart.”
The little dragon nodded and flew into the clearing, and then he landed on all fours, closed his eyes, and made a portal appear. He’d managed to make a fairly large portal earlier in the day, but it took a good bit of energy, so I figured some practice might help.
While Blar worked on getting the portal up to size, the girls and I checked out the bodies of the dwarves. It was odd to see their bodies on the ground where our larger opponents had once been, but I went through their tiny pockets, took anything of value, and moved on.
I expected to find a good number of coins or valuables in the cart, but it was empty save for a large chest we also found to be empty.
“How odd,” Asta said, and she looked at me with confused yellow eyes. “How were they going to pay for the dragons?”
“Maybe they weren’t.” Eira shrugged. “Maybe they planned to steal them.”
“Then why have the chest?” Asta countered.
“Hm, good point.” The redhead pursed her lips.
“It’s enchanted,” Kas said, and she stepped forward and put her hand on it.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Positive,” she answered with a nod. “I knew I could feel some energy in here, but I wasn’t sure where it was coming from at first. It’s this, though, I’m sure now that I’ve touched it.”
“What do you think it’s enchanted to do?” Asta asked.
“Is the money right there, and we can’t see it?” Eira inquired as she cocked her head to the side and inspected the chest.
“No.” Kas shook her head. “My bet is it’s a similar magic to how they escaped. They use this chest as a way to transport the money when they need it, that way they don’t have to bring it with them and risk getting robbed.”
“Whoa.” Eira blinked, and her eyes widened. “That’s actually incredibly smart.”
“It is.” I nodded.
“So, it’s just a chest?” Asta asked with a frown.
“It looks like it,” I chuckled. “Or at least to us it is. But, we have plenty of coins from the other dealers we took out, so it’s alright.”
